SUBTITLED “A short history of living longer”, Mortal Coil is more a compilation of fantasies than a story of science. It looks at the fervent human desire to believe that eternal life is just around the corner, attainable with some combination of elixirs, morals, diets or drugs, a desire that has filled human history, pervaded philosophy, literature and religion, and fuelled a 400-year scientific quest for immortality.
Haycock presents some of those, from the 17th century to the present day, who have taken up the quest for lives considerably longer than three score years and ten. These are people dreaming…
